the merits of mercy (and the silent treatment)
by Atherys
Summary: During an absolutely pathetic attempt at getting past Papyrus, Chara gets a bit tired of seeing Frisk struggle so much with a task that would be a lot easier if they'd consider other options. So they take action. Frisk does not approve. Sans gets suspicious.


**AN:** Again, Chara is not a mindless murder demon for the purposes of this fic (and also in general, _cherish this child_ ), they are Frisk's soulbond sibling (...but not really siblings). I wrote all of this in one go and barely even proofread it. My apologies for any typos that managed to slip through.

(extra apologies for ooc sans. whoops. writing things involving him is kinda tricky seeing as the most canon thing he does is... seemingly nothing.)

if you leave a comment i'll probably cry, but in a good way, so that'd be lovely.

enjoy!

* * *

Fighting Papyrus is a lot less pleasant than fighting Toriel.

Which is a pretty weird thing to think? Because fighting Toriel was _definitely_ not pleasant - if anything it was closer to agonizing and heart-breaking - but at least they knew she wouldn't hurt them. Not really.

Papyrus is an unknown, and Frisk is not the best at dodging.

They _try_ to avoid the attacks, but it's hard, what with how strangely heavy their body is. Nevertheless they stubbornly keep sparing him every round. The battle whittles away at their health, HP after measly HP, and Frisk feels themself weakening. It's not so bad. They've had worse. (Still hurts, though, and Chara still hisses between their teeth every time Papyrus gets a hit in.)

Their turn again. They push themselves off the ground with a grimace and hesitate for just a moment before trying to spare him again. Probably next turn they should try to eat something. _Hey, do we have any cinnamon bunnies left?_

 _Oh my god,_ Chara says, impatient, and then, _Just_ _ **move.**_

The feeling is… odd. Frisk is pushed out of the way, out of control, out of their _body_ , and suddenly… Chara is in control. They dodge Papyrus' attacks with much less effort than Frisk did, barely even breathing hard.

Their fingers clench around the toy knife.

Frisk thinks _no._

Their body jerks forward, hand and knife striking out in a fluid motion, hitting Papyrus square in the chest. Frisk's thoughts are frozen in horror. Papurys barely even reacts, but he's still- but _they_ still-

 _Stop,_ they tell Chara as they dart towards him again, raising their arm to attack, and Papyrus isn't even _trying_ to dodge, none of the monsters ever do and Frisk doesn't _understand_ it and Chara is fighting him and Frisk doesn't want to fight anyone at all and why won't they stop? Frisk pushes with all their strength and tell them again, more forcefully this time, wrenching back control of their body _Chara,_ _ **STOP!**_

They halt the motion in its track, hands shaking.

 _What are you_ _ **doing?**_ Chara sounds angry enough that it makes Frisk wince, and they soften their voice, though they still sound pissed off. _I almost had him!_

 _I don't want to hurt anybody._

 _He was trying to hurt us - he_ _ **hit**_ _you, Frisk! You're bleeding!_

It's true. They are, and the bruises that are certain to show up sooner or later will probably be much worse.

 _I'll heal._

 _Or he'll kill you._

 _He won't._

Chara's voice is threaded with frustration. _You don't_ _ **know**_ _that!_

Frisk hesitates. They don't know how to explain this. There's too much - because of course they don't _know_. Not really. But violence can't be the only way to reach your goals, it _can't_. There's got to be a better option, there's got to be another way. _You're right._ Chara's surprise only lasts a second before Frisk continues. _But I need to hope it's true._

With much effort, they unbend their fingers, letting the knife fall to the ground. Chara groans. _Great,_ they say sarcastically. _See if I ever try to help you again._

 _Chara, please don't be mad._

They don't reply. Frisk can feel them sulking. They wish they weren't so _impatient_ , wish they were a bit more ready to see the good in people.

In their distraction they don't notice that it's once again Papyrus' turn to attack. A bone strikes their shoulder and they cry out, losing their balance. They hit the ground with a low grunt. With a flash of fear they realise they only have 1HP left. Even though they know it won't help - magic damages the soul, not the body - they cover their head with their arms and wait for the blow. _It's okay, I can reload, I can reload-_

-but the blow never comes. Instead, Papyrus halts the battle. The bones around them harmlessly clatter to the ground.

"YOU'RE TOO WEAK," he says. Frisk's heart is hammering in their chest. "I WAS EASILY ABLE TO CAPTURE YOU! I WILL NOW SEND YOU TO THE CAPTURE ZONE! OR, AS SANS CALLS IT… OUR GARAGE? YOU'RE IN THE DOGHOUSE NOW!"

...and then they are. Most likely they passed out, because they wake up on the ground, staring up at the ceiling. They're feeling better than they were during the battle. Though - they realise when they try to sit up - they're still a bit sore. Rest doesn't do much against bruises.

 _Too bad we can't just get Toriel to heal us again, huh?_ they say, but there's no reply. Chara is too busy sulking. Frisk doesn't even try to stop their frown. _You're being silly. Look, it's fine! I'm_ _ **fine.**_ _I_ _ **told**_ _you he wouldn't kill us, and look! Here we are. Still alive!_

There's still no response. Frisk's frown deepens, and then they get up from the ground with a frustrated huff. Fine! If Chara doesn't wanna talk they won't talk. It's whatever! Frisk can get by just fine on their own. Probably.

Papyrus has left them a note. Frisk can't help but smile when they read it, instinctively starting to say _see, he's not that bad, is he?_ before they remember that they're not on speaking terms with Chara right now, and cut the thought off half-way through.

They brush the dirt and last remainders of the snow off their clothes and walk out the door, immediately stopping.

sans is standing right outside, casually lounging against the wall. When Frisk comes out he throws them a glance and smiles. "'sup. leaving so soon? pap'll be very disappointed to see you've slipped away."

Frisk tenses. sans must notice, because he winks and the smile widens a bit. " _chill_ , kid, i'm not gonna stop ya. i'm guessing if he really wants you to stick around in there he'll have to get some better _defences_."

The bad joke startles a giggle out of Frisk and they instinctively relax. Chara's still on edge - they can feel it - but there's still not a word from them, so Frisk ignores it.

"Guess he'll just have to catch me again, right?" they say, grinning.

"guess so," sans says, and then the smile drops from his face as he pushes off the wall too look at Frisk properly. He's not actually that much taller but it still feels like he's towering over them. Frisk can't help but to tense right back up again, especially when his voice loses some of the joking air and gets strangely low. "so, kid. what was that back there?"

"Nothing," they respond, too quickly. It's an obvious lie, especially since the appropriate response would have been 'I don't know what you're talking about', or at least would've involved better feigned ignorance.

sans just looks at them. There's a very clearly implied 'don't give me that crap, kid.' Frisk takes a deep breath; they have to tell him _something._

"It's… there's…" They pause, trying to make the words come out right, hands fluttering in agitation. There's no help to be had Chara, even as they're suddenly on high alert - they're too stubborn to give up on their self-imposed estrangement so easily - but Frisk knows they'd rather sans didn't know. After all, they didn't even want to tell Toriel.

But Frisk is a bad liar.

"There's… someone else, with me," they begin, haltingly. "They don't think mercy is the best option, all the time." _Or ever_ , they don't say.

At the back of their shared mindspace, there is the distinct impression of a derisive scoff.

"you're telling me there's someone else inside your head?" They nod. "some sort of evil entity, tryin'a _kill_ everyone?"

"They're not _evil_ ," Frisk protests, because it's true. They're not. They're just… Angry. Chara's presence is a tight ball of bubbling fury in a corner of their mind, all sharp and spiky and freezing cold, and-

-frightened. It's so heavy, Chara's fear. Frisk can't help but wonder how they ever bore it alone.

 _Stop that,_ Chara's voice comes suddenly. _Stop it._

 _Sorry_ , Frisk thinks back, though they're not sure what they're apologising for.

Without conscious thought they've moved their hand; it's pressing down on their chest, as if they could reach Chara that way, hold the both of them together just a little bit longer. sans is looking at them strangely and they realise with a rush of embarrassment that they've been quiet for too long. Heat floods their cheeks and they tear their hand away again.

"They're not evil," they say again, sullenly. "You can't hurt them."

 _I don't need you to defend me,_ Chara says. Frisk ignores them.

"look, kid," sans says, and then spreads his arms. "listen. if you say it's cool, i wanna trust you. but they tried to _kill my brother_ , and what with how you moved back there i doubt he's the only one."

He's not… wrong, exactly. Frisk remembers. The urge to fight instead of folding, to lash out and to _hurt_.

...but they also remember freezing up in wild panic only to have their body dodge out of the way of attacks time and time again, remembers being so close to just letting themself slip away only to be forcefully pulled back to consciousness, held together by a will and determination that wasn't quite their own.

 _I didn't do that to_ _ **help**_ _you._

 _I know. But it did help._

 _...Whatever._

"If it wasn't for them I never would've made it this far," they insist. "They're not as bad as you think."

sans' mouth flattens to a thin line. "alright, then. but i'll be keeping an eye on you. and… anything happens, anything at all, you come to me, got it?"

Chara scoffs. _And then what? What does he even think he can do?_

Frisk fights down the urge to roll their eyes. _Stop judging by appearances. We barely know anything about him._

 _I'm not judging by appearances,_ Chara says. _I'm judging by how he's a lazy asshole._ But they stop insulting him and go back to quietly observing.

"I will," Frisk tells him.

sans looks at them for a moment longer, before nodding sharply and turning away. "good. i'm rooting for ya, kid," he throws over his shoulder before walking away in the direction of the inn. Somehow Frisk is absolutely certain that he'll still end up watching them fight Papyrus again. Speaking of which…

 _Time to get back on track, I guess. Ready?_ they ask Chara.

 _Whatever,_ is the reply they get, grumpy and vaguely bitter, but not entirely dismissive.

 _Come on, let's go._

They do.

* * *

 _Three_ visits to the garage later, Frisk is still failing to avoid the attacks well enough not to get defeated. Watching them fail gets increasingly aggravating for each time they get hit by a _perfectly avoidable_ attack.

At least they haven't died yet.

Chara begrudgingly admits that maybe they knew what they were talking about when they said Papyrus wouldn't kill them.

Nevertheless, this is _boring_ , and annoying, and they want to _move on._ It would all go by _so much faster_ if Frisk would listen to reason for once. If they'd just give in to the inevitability of survival of the fittest and just _get with the program,_ if they'd just…

… give up on Chara.

It's been a while since someone last had faith in them.

 _Let me help_ , they say suddenly, just as Frisk is (reluctantly) about to grab the slice of butterscotch-cinnamon pie, their very last healing item.

Frisk hesitates. _Why?_ they ask, cautiously, after a silence that probably is only a few seconds long even as it feels like hours.

Chara grits their teeth and pushes away the wave of childish fury welling up in response to the suspicion in their voice. _They have reason to distrust you_ , they remind themself. _You caused this. They don't owe you anything and if they hate you that's on you._

To Frisk, they just say _relax, I won't try to kill him._ The 'again' is heavily implied.

 _Then what are you going to do?_

 _You're shit at dodging._ The statement is short and blunt, the tone matter-of-fact. They're very proud of how their voice doesn't shake even a little bit. _Frisk._

There is, logically speaking, no reason for Frisk to trust them. The knife is still heavy in their hands, fingers itching to get a better grip and _slash,_ but. But.

 _Alright_ , Frisk says unexpectedly, and then Chara has the body.

They're left blinking in baffled confusion, and then they're swamped by exhilaration and hesitation in equal measure. _Frisk?_ they ask, delighting in the way their heart is beating in their chest, the air has a taste on their tongue, there's the feeling of electricity on their skin from how Frisk's soul is pulsing before them, _are you sure it's okay-_

 _I'm sure_ , they say, and then, amazingly, _I trust you._

Chara's lips stretch out into a thin smile. They firmly pretend they're not moments away from crying. _You stupid sap_ , they think, blinking furiously, _You have shit judgment._

They throw the knife off to the side of the path so they're not tempted to use it.

Frisk is kind enough to let it go without comment.

* * *

 _Thank you,_ Frisk says, after Chara has fought for them without actually _fighting_ , and Frisk has managed to somehow seduce Papyrus into agreeing to go on a date with them instead of trying to kill them. Or capture them. Whatever.

 _You're the one who actually made him stop fighting,_ Chara points out.

 _I guess,_ Frisk replies. _But I wouldn't have survived long enough to do it without you. So… thank you._

 _Yeah, well,_ they say, only stuttering a little now they're _glad_ they don't have a physical form. Existence is so much better when they don't blush all the time. _Whatever. Next time do it better so I don't_ _ **have**_ _to. Come on, what are you standing around for, do you wanna get to the barrier or not? Get moving._

 _I'm going, I'm going,_ Frisk says, and they're smiling so wide, and their steps are so bouncy they're practically _skipping_ when they finally set off towards waterfall.

 _If you start singing, or whistling, or even_ _ **humming**_ _, I will jump both of us off a cliff,_ Chara threatens.

 _What about beat-boxing?_ Frisk asks innocently.

The bright laughter that bubbles out of them after Chara's disgusted groan is one of the most beautiful sounds they've ever heard.


End file.
